Weeks after floods ravaged Kashmir leaving countless homeless, Mahesh Narvekar, head of BMC's disaster management cell, pointed out that Mumbai is prone to 27 of 32 identified disasters. Narvekar was speaking at a session on 'Kashmir Floods: Lessons in disaster risk reduction' organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) on Friday.
The session featured speakers like professors Hilal Ahmed Ghanaie from Government college, Udhampur, R Nagarajan from IIT-Bombay and Stalin D from the NGO Vanashakti, who spoke on the Kashmir floods and the preparedness of the city to tackle such a situation.
Is Mumbai prepared for disasters?
Mumbai is prone to floods, cloudburst, earthquakes and landslides among others. "The city comprises seven islands and the reclaimed land between them are low-lying areas. Even though BMC has taken several measures post the 2005 floods, the reclaimed portions will invariably get flooded whenever there is a high tide," said Narvekar, adding that the four automated weather stations and the Mumbai Monsoon app are some steps BMC has taken.
"Two National Disaster Response Force teams have also been permanently stationed in the city," said Narvekar, adding that the Geological Survey of India is carrying out a survey to determine the number of landslide-prone spots in the city.
What's the need of the hour?
The speakers, however, agreed that there should be a concrete disaster management body for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. "MMR needs a separate body to handle disasters, since the disaster management cell of BMC takes care only of Mumbai," said chairman of ORF, Sudheendra Kulkarni.
How can floods be controlled?
Stalin highlighted the importance of the coastal wetlands in the city and the reasons they are diminishing so fast. "They play a crucial role in controlling floods. During the 2005 floods, the area between Vikhroli and Mulund was not affected much for the same reason," he said.
Delineation of vulnerable zones
Ganaie spoke of the delineation of flood-prone areas using a new Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) and Transect Method. In the case of Kashmir floods, the method proved that the width of lower Jhelum areas are more affected than the upper Jhelum areas.
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